Water meeting to explore service north to Two Mile Purchase

SWANSEA — The Swansea Water District will be holding its annual meeting on Monday, May, 13 at Case High School beginning at 7 p.m. with 11 articles on the warrant.

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By BILL HALL

southcoasttoday.com

By BILL HALL

Posted May. 1, 2013 at 11:50 AM

By BILL HALL

Posted May. 1, 2013 at 11:50 AM

» Social News

SWANSEA — The Swansea Water District will be holding its annual meeting on Monday, May, 13 at Case High School beginning at 7 p.m. with 11 articles on the warrant.

While most of the articles are routine, the one major new article requests $900,000 to bring water service to the Two Mile Purchase in the most northern end of the town.

The plan would be to bring the water line for Sharps Lot Road to Nike Site Road to Breslin Path out to Baker Road and Purchase Street.

Water District Superintendent Robert Marquis noted that the line would go as far as the $900,000 would take it.

Supt. Marquis noted that the cost per foot of excavation would depend on what is in the subsurface and that there would be some exploratory excavation to provide the people who are bidding, an idea of what is below the surface.

The May, 2012 annual meeting approved funding to begin the process of providing water service to the Two Mile Purchase.

Other articles include the election of a moderator with attorney Marita Gray again showing interest.

The second article would be the report of the water commissioners and District treasurer.

Among the highlights of the past year was bringing the water line across Interstate 195 through the open cut method that brought up the cost from an original $547,000 to $1.5 million.

Supt. Marquis noted that the District received $1 million in American Recovery Reinvestment Act money that covered that cost without adding to the borrowing.

The completion of the work tied the pipeline from the intake at the Palmer River to the Vinnicum Road treatment plant. The District was able to complete the project within the borrowing limit of $19,055,000.

The District also found that it had to drain the elevated tank on Locust Street and repaint it after finding sheets of coating peeling off during the scheduled power wash cleaning of the exterior bowl.

The third article fixes the salaries of the elected officials.

The fourth article is the operating budget of the District that has increased by 2.5 percent to $3,672,608.

The fifth article would allow the Board of Commissioners to borrow money during the year. Last year, $400,000 was allocated to defray costs, including the debt service.

The sixth article allows the District to reserve funds received from water service installations. Because the District is usually behind from the time of installation to receiving bill payments, a certain amount is needed to offset the costs.

The seventh article would be $50,000 for supplementing the construction account for the current fiscal year. Supt. Marquis noted that there have been increases in the cost of many of the materials used by the District, including copper, brass and machine casting.

The eighth article would allow the District to transfer from water receipts for the current fiscal year and move the balance to the construction account for the following year.

The ninth article would allocate $50,000 in a transfer from certified free cash for improvements to the wellfields. A control system at the Bushee Road water treatment facility needs replacing after 20 years of use.

Article 10 would put $143,411 to the desalination water treatment project.

The 11th article will be to borrow the $900,000 for water service to the Two Mile Purchase.